Planners holding brainstorming session on Dover's gateways

By Michelle Kingston

mkingston@fosters.com

fosters.com

By Michelle Kingston

mkingston@fosters.com

Posted Jan. 31, 2013 at 3:15 AM

By Michelle Kingston

mkingston@fosters.com

Posted Jan. 31, 2013 at 3:15 AM

DOVER — A series of public design charrettes, similar to brainstorming sessions, will be held in February to help the Planning Department decide if zoning adjustments and expansions will help improve the gateways leading into downtown.

On Saturday, Feb. 2, and Saturday, Feb. 9, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the McConnell Center, Room 306, the charrettes will be used to formulate creative ideas for the future development or redevelopment of the downtown.

This comes after the City of Dover undertook the Gateway Rezoning Study, aimed to ensure the major roads leading into downtown are zoned to provide the best possible opportunities for growth and mixed use.

This study is the next step in updating zoning regulations since the downtown zoning was revisited in 2009.

The zoning regulations have not been revised for these roadways in more than 30 years, according to a public statement.

“Staff recognizes that there is a need to revisit the zoning along these gateways,” Assistant City Planner Timothy Corwin said in a public statement. “But it’s up to the community to decide how they want these roadways to look and feel. Our job is to facilitate that discussion, provide technical expertise, and put pen to paper to draft regulations that reflect what the community wants.”

The final step in the rezoning study, according to a public statement, “is driven entirely by public participation.”

The public is invited to share its thoughts on how the corridors should change over time and how they think the area should look.

The first design charrette, on Feb. 2, will focus on Broadway and Portland Avenue and the second session, on Feb. 9, will focus on Central Avenue south of Silver Street, but both sessions will discuss all six gateways.

The public can also participate by taking a short online survey located on the Planning Department’s home page at www.dover.nh.gov/planhome.htm. The survey will be available through at least the end of February, and anyone who completes it will have the opportunity to enter his or her name in a raffle to win a $50 Main Street gift card.

For more information on the charrettes or the survey, contact the director of Planning and Community Development at c.parker@dover.nh.gov or the Assistant City Planner Tim Corwin, at t.corwin@dover.nh.gov or call the City Planning Department at (603) 516-6008.